


because of a maxed credit card

by alyxer



Series: SenGen Week 2020-21 [3]
Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ice Cream, M/M, Teasing, Winking is hot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28490982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alyxer/pseuds/alyxer
Summary: In which Senku Ishigami gets a job and it's maybe not as bad as he thought it would be.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Series: SenGen Week 2020-21 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081709
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82





	because of a maxed credit card

**Author's Note:**

> A day late but here!
> 
> Day 3: Morse Code
> 
> (I just wanted a Sengen ice cream shop au)

When it came to complaining, Senku knew he did it considerably less than his teenage counterparts. Whenever life impressed upon him some unbefitting misfortune, he usually found some way to counteract it. Whether it was causing an explosion in class on the very rare occasion Senku forgot his homework or using the field as a means to create delicious dishes despite having never cooked before, science was more versatile than people thought. 

Too sad he reached a wall.

Senku sighed to himself as the voice overhead announced his stop, and he made his way off of the train amidst the group of people getting off. He still had a five-minute walk to the place and used the time to curse his old man, even though he was the last person at fault for this. After all, it was his credit cards Senku used to buy everything he needed. It was only a matter of time before he maxed them all out, he guessed.

When Senku arrived, he pulled uncomfortably at the collar of his employee's shirt, trying to ignore the slogan he knew to be on the back: 'We flip it, you dip it!'

At least the visor acted as a sun shield, though it pushed the bang of hair that refused to be abnormal and gravity-defying as the rest of it against his forehead. If he put it above the visor, it only flopped back over the top, and that annoyed him even more, so he was stuck. At least the blue jeans and no slide shoes were his own.

Stupid outfit aside, Senku trudged to the back door of the ice cream/food establishment and opened it, ready to begin his journey as a broke minimum wage teenager.

\---

"It was awful." Senku complained the next day at school.

"Oh, Senku, cheer up!" Taiju pumped a fist in the air, "You're making money!" They were currently in the science lab: where Senku spent most of his free time at school.

"Once my shift ended, I barely had the time to check on my experiments and reply to Dr. X." Senku grumbled, almost missing the beaker he was pouring aluminum into.

"They made me smile to people." He was vaguely aware of his eye twitching, "They made me smile to people who paid over one thousand yen with nothing but five yen coins."

"Oh, yikes." Yuzuriha piped up from her spot opposite the counter. She was working on knitting some fabric that had yet to take shape.

"They made you smile?" Taiju asked, slowly.

"Yes, what about it?" He watched the amalgam form slowly for a little bit, before grabbing the beaker and placing it against the wall, where no one would touch it. Taiju and Yuzuriha shared a look.

"Nothing." They said in tandem.

"Maybe ask to be put somewhere you don't interact with people as much?" Yuzuriha offered.

"That's..." Senku thought about it. What was the worse that could happen? The idea was rejected? "...a good idea. I'll bring it up to my manager today."

"No problem." Yuzuriha placed the fuzzy red fabric down on the counter and stared at Senku. The latter ignored her for a few minutes, but her eyes never left him.

"What?"

"So... when are we going to see you in your uniform?"

Senku shot her a glare.

\---

When Senku arrived at work that day, he found himself surprised when the manager pulled him aside.

"Hey, Ishigami, you'll be learning how to work ice cream today."

"Why?"

"Well, some customers called in. Apparently, multiple children were scared by your..." The manager waved his hand toward Senku's head. "Disposition."

Whether he meant the hair or the face, Senku couldn't tell. He sighed,

"Alright, what do I do?"

"Asagiri will be showing you." The manager took him to the ice cream area of the restaurant, where a tall, nimble man was already at work mixing various candy bar bits into ice cream, then placing scoops of the ice cream into cups. He placed the cups on top of a bar that looked out into the restaurant.

"Order up!" He called out. Even his voice matched his frame, neither incredibly deep nor indisputably feminine. When the man pulled back, he noticed the two standing there and gave a small smile, "Hello Sato-san! Who's this?"

"This is Senku Ishigami. He'll be learning under you today."

"I'm happy to teach." The man's voice was as smooth as honey. Senku almost scoffed. "Nice to meet you, I'm Gen Asagiri, please call me Gen." Gen bowed, and Senku begrudgingly gave his own in return.

"Asagiri is one of our best workers. You'll do well to listen to him."

"Sato-san, you flatter me too much! You're the man that holds this whole thing together." Senku almost cringed. There was no way he would be impressed by that. Sato laughed,

"Oh, Gen, a charmer as always. Well, I'll leave you two to it!"

Un-freaking-believable.

With that, the manager, whose name Senku already forgot, went to the back and into the office, probably to sit and watch the employees work, while he got paid twice as much. But maybe Senku was just projecting.

"How long have you worked here, Ishigami?" Gen turned his attention to him and smiled with something unbelievably bright and...fake, though Senku figured most people ate it up. He rolled his eyes. The manager did, apparently.

"Since yesterday." Senku shrugged before adding, "And call me Senku." Ishigami reminded him too much of his old man, and it wasn't like Gen and Senku were that far in age.

"And they're already putting you on ice cream?" Gen laughed, "You must've done really well in front." Senku crossed his arms. People actually fell for this front?

"Quite the opposite, really. Apparently, I gave the children nightmares." Senku deadpanned. Silence. If he was going to have to deal with this, he might as well have fun.

"...Well, I'll show you how to mix ice cream."

\---

"Only two scoops? That gives the customer one bite of actual candy." Gen was currently showing Senku the proportions between ingredients and ice cream.

"It's just company policy, I'm afraid." He replied, his smile more of a tight upturn of lips than the blinding grin it was before. It was a few hours later, and Senku had volleyed comment after comment at Gen, but the man refused to budge. For now, anyway.

"Don't even get me started on the ice cream." Senku continued, watching as Gen's eyes dimmed under his visor. "That shit's like half air, about 40% if I'm being generous. If this sundae is supposed to be 5 ounces, take away one for the cup, which leaves 1.6 ounces being air and 2.4 ounces actual ice cream. If it's 288 yen, 307 after tax, you're paying roughly 128 yen per ounce of ice cream rather than the 61 yen they make you think you're paying, over twice the amount. It's a ripoff. Don't even get me started on the topping..."

Gen silently placed the sundae up on the bar, not bothering to say 'order up' like he usually did. Senku continued his analysis of how the topping was an even bigger ripoff. Fifty cents for a scoop, really?

Once he finished, Gen wiped his hands off with a nearby towel and turned to Senku. His face made the scientist give out a bark of laughter. "What's with the constipated look. Need to use the bathroom or something?"

"Senku-chan." Gen's voice wasn't as light as it was at the beginning of the shift. It sounded strained as if he were desperately trying to keep his composure. Senku was close. "Maybe you should go on break."

"You mean the fifteen minute break that barely gives me time to eat, use the restroom, and rest my legs that have to stand for 7 hours straight to work a minimum wage job that doesn't even pay for the minimum price of living?"

"You get the 50% off employee break discount." Gen tried weakly.

"You're still paying 2.9 yen more."

And then Gen did something Senku never expected him to do.

He burst out laughing.

Not the practiced giggles or polite chuckles he gave every time Senku said something. These were loud, shoulder shaking, snorting, trying-to-catch-your-breath laughs. This laughter was the realist thing Senku had heard come out of the man all day.

Before long, Senku joined in, too, unaware of the customers that looked over toward the bar, their conversations interrupted by the loud noise.

"Please d-don't tell me you actually figured that out before you, you came into work today." Gen held his sides, trying to speak through his slowly dying laughter.

"I didn't, actually." Senku stopped laughing, but he still had a wide grin on his face, "I made the calculations when you were telling me how much it weighed."

Gen stood back up straight, his jaw dropped in surprise, "With no calculator or anything?" Senku shook his head, "How long did it take you?"

"Roughly three seconds."

"Wow."

"Not really. That's basic math."

Gen opened his mouth to speak when the manager suddenly appeared. Senku waited for them to get chewed out, but he was pleasantly surprised.

"We're really slow today, so do either of you want to head home?"

"I couldn't compare to Gen's skill level," Senku was already taking off his visor, "So I'll go ahead and go." Said man narrowed his eyes slightly. Too slow.

"Is that okay, Asagiri?" Senku didn't worry, as Gen's next words would be,

"Definitely! Enjoy the rest of your night, Senku-chan." He exclaimed, though the words didn't sound half as excitable as they did earlier.

"You, too!" Senku gave Gen a smirk as he walked away, laughing quietly to himself. "What a people pleaser..."

\---

The next week went about the same, but with each day, Senku found he dreaded going to work less and less. Gen and Senku somehow managed to convince the manager they worked well together, so the two often got paired together on their shifts. Senku found he wasn't as insufferable when he wasn't putting up a facade, which was only whenever the two were alone. He also found no matter what he did, Gen refused to say a word to the managers.

"Hey, Gen, catch!" Senku scooped up the ice cream he'd been mixing (with an extra scoop of Oreos because one spoon was not enough). Gen looked up from where he restocked the cups, with one in his hand.

"Wha- Senku, no!" But it was too late. The ice cream flung in the air, and Senku was about to regret the whole thing - he realized HE would be the one cleaning it up - when the scoop landed perfectly in the cup Gen held.

"Damn, nice catch." Senku remarked, eyebrows raised in surprise. Gen sighed in relief,

"Not cool, Senku-chan!" Gen huffed. Senku stared at him. "...okay it was a little cool, but only because I caught it!"

"I knew you could do it."

"No, you didn't."

"Yeah, you're right."

\---

One day, when Senku arrived at work, the ice cream machine broke. They had two, but one of them was very slow, and it could take 20 seconds to get the ice cream you needed. Unfortunately, the one that broke was the fast one, and Senku watched the screen in the ice cream area quietly as the order times got higher and higher. All of them turned red as they passed the three minute mark, and even Senku's anxiety began to increase.

"Gen, how much longer on the snowstorm?" Senku called out from his place by the bar. The snowstorm was their restaurant's trademarked mixed ice cream, so thick you could flip it over, and it would only fall out occasionally (not to be mistaken with another fast-food restaurant's similarly named blended ice cream).

"A minute. I think we may be running out of the mix, too. Could you go get some from the back?" Gen called back. Senku sighed. The mix weighed like 40 pounds. It was the worst to carry.

"I'm on it." Just as Senku moved to get the mix, he heard someone clear their throat. He turned toward the noise to see a middle-aged woman peering over the bar, an ice cream covered cup in her hand.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh, yeah?" Usually, the lobby person dealt with customers, but occasionally they'd have people come up to the bar asking if they could get ketchup or some other thing. One time, somebody tried to order an ice cream cone when the cash register with a person behind it was only a few feet away. Usually, Gen dealt with them.

"My son flipped his ice cream, and it fell out of the cup."

"You can ask the lobby person to clean it up." Senku told her, going back to wiping the same spot on the counter for the fifth time.

"I want another one." She placed the cup on the bar, and Senku watched as it dripped onto the marble surface.

"We don't do refills on ice cream. You'll have to buy another one from the lobby person."

"Excuse me, these are already expensive enough. They are supposed to stay in the cup when you flip them, and it didn't."

"Yeah, when we first make them." Senku shrugged.

"Tone down the attitude, young man, this is supposed to be your job. Where's your manager? I want to file a complaint." Senku was about to tell her where she could stick her complaint when a light, familiar voice interrupted.

"I'm sorry, is there an issue?" Gen smiled brightly at the lady, not even faltering as he looked at the dripping cup on the counter. The lady explained the same thing to him, while Senku began mixing the ice cream Gen placed on the counter. He ducked his head as he tried not to laugh. Try to see that smooth talker get out of this one.

"Senku, could you go make this nice lady a new snowstorm?"

Senku's head snapped up.

"But the polic-"

"Our customers come first." Gen turned back to the lady, "We will get that done for you right away."

By the time Senku remade the ice cream and came back to give it to Gen, the lady was giving him in-depth directions on how to get to a place she'd gotten her nails done at. Gen, the piece of shit, was listening intently, asking questions as if he genuinely cared.

Senku placed the ice cream cup on the bar, unable to deal with the situation in front of him anymore when the lady smiled, any trace of irritation from before gone.

"Thank you, Asagiri-kun, here's a tip for all of the trouble." She placed a 1000 yen bill on the bar and left.

Senku just stared as Gen tucked the bill into his back pocket and winked, "It doesn't hurt to be a little nicer, Senku-chan."

The scientist felt heat rush to his face, and he turned to the side, "Whatever, mentalist."

\---

One day, Senku and Gen were put on break at the same time, and it seemed almost normal for the two to slide into an empty booth.

While Senku dug into his bowl of ramen (which was less of a rip off than the ice cream but still very much expensive), Gen drizzled ranch onto his salad. Neither of them ordered ice cream.

They couldn't talk much, not with only fifteen minutes, but the silence was enjoyable. And then he tried to eat. Senku's visor pushed his bang onto his face, and every time he attempted to bring the chopsticks to his mouth, the hair would get in the way, and he'd have to push it to the side over and over. At one point, when Senku was attempting to tuck the piece of hair under the hat, Gen laughed.

"Here, take your visor off."

Senku looked at him hesitantly but otherwise followed his instructions. Gen stood up from his side of the booth and went to sit by Senku. He had a ponytail around his wrist, "May I?"

"Yeah, sure."

With skilled fingers, Gen picked the bang up and began to weave it in with the rest of the hair. Senku closed his eyes as Gen braided his hair, only opening them once he felt the pull of the ponytail holder being tightened around it.

"There you go!" Gen sat back and admired his work, "It should stay up now."

"Why do you have a ponytail holder with you?" Senku asked, hand reaching up to feel the bumps in his hair.

"Don't touch it, the strands might come undone." Gen placed his hand over Senku's and pulled it down and away from his hair. He then twisted his head to reveal a clip on the side, holding back a longer piece of hair Senku had never seen before.

"You're not the only one with a weird hairstyle, Senku."

"...right. Thank you." Senku was still staring at their conjoined hands when Gen followed his gaze to the same sight. He quickly pulled his hand away, before standing up and going back to his side of the booth. 

"No problem." They went back to eating their food, and Senku smiled as he raised the chopsticks to his mouth, finding nothing in their way.

\--

A couple of weeks after Senku started, they were having a slow day, and he was itching for his shift to end. His pay should be going through that night, and he could hardly wait to get his hands on the money.

He absentmindedly tapped his finger on the counter, dreaming about all of the scientific equipment he was going to buy.

"Senku-chan," Gen called, and Senku sighed. He was probably going to make him restock the cones or something.

"Hm?"

"Do you know morse code?" Gen wiped an ice cream droplet from a nearby counter. Even he was running out of things to do.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"You're tapping out numbers." Gen nodded toward Senku's fingers, which hadn't stilled in their tapping.

"Oh, I do that, sometimes."

In response, Gen tapped his own fingers against the counter, and Senku stopped his in favor of listening.

A letter, two, three.

'If you have time to lean,' Senku scrunched his eyebrows together. What was that supposed to mean? Gen continued,

'You have time to clean.'

Gen laughed and ducked as Senku threw a plastic spoon at him.

\---

The money went through that night, and by the next morning, Senku already spent half of it buying science supplies. He didn't work that day and planned to use the free time to start some science experiments he'd been putting off.

Keywords: 'he planned to'.

"Senku! Let's hang out today!"

Senku sighed. He tried. All throughout the day, Taiju made 'subtle' comments about how the three of them hadn't been able to hang out since Senku started work. The scientist did his best to ignore them and attempted to race out of school as soon as class ended to escape before Taiju officially asked.

He failed.

Yuzuriha giggled as Senku groaned loudly in protest. He already knew his fate.

"Fine, but only for a few hours. I need to order a few more things."

"You got paid, Senku?" Yuzuriha asked.

"Yup."

"Awesome!" Taiju pumped a fist in the air, "You can treat us to ice cream."

"Wait, I never sai-"

"Please, Senku." Taiju pouted, and Senku swore he saw tears in his eyes. He glanced over to Yuzuriha only to be met with a matching expression.

"You won't convince me."

\---

Senku didn't know how he managed to go back to work on his day off. Well, he did, but that didn't make it any better.

He agreed to buy ice cream only because he knew Taiju and Yuzuriha wouldn't leave him alone about it unless he did. And then Yuzuriha mentioned his place of work because,

"You have your employee's discount, Senku!"

And that's how he found himself sitting in the same booth he and Gen sat in only a few days ago, cheeks warming as he remembered the feeling of nimble fingers pulling softly at his hair.

Speaking of Gen...Senku stretched his neck to look over the booth and toward the bar that led to the ice cream area. He could see movement through the open space, but he couldn't identify who was working. As he moved to sit back down, not having realized he stood up in the first place, Taiju leaned over from the other side, where he sat by Yuzuriha.

"Who are you looking for, Senku?"

"No one, you big oaf, I was seeing if our ice cream was done yet." As if they hadn't just sat down, and there was no way it would be done yet. His friends didn't mention it and started talking about school. Yuzuriha was going on about the garment she knitted a week ago - a sweater - and Taiju was looking at her as if she hung the stars.

Senku listened vaguely, thinking more about a recent science article he read. He was arguing against the points in his head when Yuzuriha called out to him,

"You know, I haven't heard you complain about work in a while, Senku. Are you finally settling in?"

Senku snorted but realized the truth in her words. He really hadn't been complaining recently.

"Of course not. The customers are shit. I'm still getting paid shit. My coworkers are annoying as eve-"

"I hope you don't mean that, Senku-chan," A voice called out from above him. Senku turned to see Gen holding their ice cream on a tray. The man turned to Yuzuriha and Taiju, "Sorry for the wait, our lobby is pretty busy tonight."

"Is that why you're handing out the ice cream?" Senku asked as Gen flipped his mint oreo snowstorm and places it on the table in front of him.

Yuzuriha and Taiju clapped. Senku rolled his eyes at the childish display.

"Yes, I was surprised to see you, dear Senku," The side of Gen's lips turned up, and Senku didn't miss the mischievous tone in his voice, "Considering how much the ice cream is even with the employees discount. About 115 yen per ounce, I believe?"

Senku laughed, "Didn't know you could do the math, mentalist."

"You'd be surprised what I can do, Senku-chan." Gen's smirk only grew, and he winked at Senku before walking off. In what universe were winks allowed to be hot?

He grumbled to himself before digging into his ice cream, unable to hide his smile when he realized it definitely had more than two scoops into it.

"Well, that explains the lack of complaining." Yuzuriha giggled.

"Woah, when were you going to tell us you got a boyfriend, Senku?"

Senku almost spat out his ice cream.

"He is not my boyfriend."

"Could've fooled me." Yuzuriha smiled, "Mentalist..." She whispered under her breath.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Senku repeated, raising his voice.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I forgot to bring some napkins over."

Senku's mind short-circuited as he turned to see Gen, hand out with a pile of napkins and a lovely flush on his face. He definitely heard that.

"Thank you..." Senku muttered, pointedly ignoring the twin giggles across from him as he took the napkins.

Gen left, and Senku waited until he went back behind the bar before turning to Yuzuriha and Taijuu, ready to chew them out, when he noticed something on the top napkin.

.-- .- -. - / - --- / . .- - / --- ...- . .-. .--. .-. .. -.-. . -.. / -.. .. -. -. . .-. / .-- .. - .... / -- . / - --- -- --- .-. .-. --- .-- ..--.. / -....- --. . -.

Underneath, in Arabic number form, was a 10 digit number. 

Senku didn't bother saying anything when Taiju and Yuzuriha both yelled in unison:

"We knew it!"

Translation: Want to eat overpriced dinner with me tomorrow? -Gen

**Author's Note:**

> Did I really calculate how much of a ripoff Dairy Queen's small sundaes are and put it in a fic? Yes, yes I did. And it took way longer than three seconds to do so.
> 
> I just wanted Senku to suffer, too.


End file.
